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Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue take five wickets each to give England the upper hand in the Headingey Test
Read full story on theguardian.com →
Sport — Rob Smyth (earlier) and Tanya Aldred (later)
Related: Tongue and Robinson’s high fives put England in control against Pakistan
Related: Root and Robinson evoke Headingley history to help England boss opening day | Taha Hashim
Related: ‘Something we’ll never forget’: Ollie Robinson enjoys England return and an odd souvenir
And I think that’s enough from me, especially as I can’t see any pictures. Thanks for sticking with us during the blackout – Ali’s report will land here soon and we’ll be back tomorrow for day two. Bye!
And how about the hat-trick ball? “I didn’t like the break as I was on a roll, but we were happy we got the last few wickets.”
Match ball split in half for Tongue and Robinson
Josh Tongue: “It was quite nice to bowl on. You had to be brave with your lengths, but got your rewards by targeting your stumps as much as you can and that’s how I got my wickets.”
Who has the match ball? “Robbo had to start with but the groundsman has now split it in half. “
“This Mo Ali floats it like a beach ball and stings the batters like a kitten.” Thank you Abishek Chopra! And sorry about that last half hour, I’m not sure what technical hiccup there was there.
An excellent day for England, especially Robinson and Tongue who finished with five wickets each. And a bit of a miserable one for Pakistan, who look a good seamer short of a full attack.
Stumps: England 112-2 trail Pakistan by 59 runs
25th over: England 112-2 (Cox 23, Root 37) Root takes a single from the penultimate ball of the day and Cox leaves the last to complete an almost pitch-perfect performance.
24th over: England 111-2 (Cox 23, Root 36) Does a Joe Root hundred feel inevitable? Yes it does. He tucks into a short one from Ali and sends another through. mid off.
23rd over: England 103-2 (Cox 22, Root 29) It sounds very beery in Leeds. Root brings up England’s hundred, they’re galloping up on Pakistan.
“Tanya, if you lose the pictures, are we supposed to send you the obo commentary? It’s the least we can do really. “Yes, Abishek Chopra, please do, poste haste.”
22nd over: England 98-2 (Cox 21, Root 25) Hosing it down in Manchester, not sure if it is blowing east. Root brings up the fifty partnership with a Rootish clip for four off Khurram.
21st over: England 94-2 (Cox 21, Root 21) Three from Ali’s over.
Can I just ask what channel people are watching the cricket on, mine all seem to have cut off…
19th over: England 90-2 (Cox 21, Root 17) A back foot punch brings Cox four from Abbas, but no more runs from the over. I’’m having a few technical problems here a sec, seem to have lost the pictures.
17th over: England 86-2 (Cox 17, Root 17) Khurram replaces Ali and immediately donates Root a ball short and wide outside off stump, which Root could cut for four with his eyes shut - and duly does. Khurra m over compensates next ball, and four leg byes follow. A third four, as Root posts through square leg, though Abbas could have shown a little bit more enthusiasm for chasing it down.
16th over: England 74-2 (Cox 17, Root 9) A ninth almost immaculate over for Abbas. At slip, and wearing a huge cable knit with PEPSI across the front, Salman Ali Agha considers his options.
16th over: England 72-2 (Cox 15, Root 9) Root is in watchful mood. As Ali runs through his over, we learn that he has a BA in English literature as his parents said he could only play cricket if he continued his education. Five dots then a short ball which Root duly dispatches through the covers for four.
15th over: England 68-2 (Cox 15, Root 5) The Barmy Army are finding their evening voice. A lovely over from Abbas.
Hello Oli Booth. “I too never saw Wes Hall live, but in my younger years I spoke to plenty of old timers who’d faced him in the northern league. He was absolutely, terrifyingly magnificent and, by all accounts, an even better man too.”
14th over: England 67-2 (Cox 15, Root 4) Ali is mixing dross with diamonds – Cox squirms at one that nips away between slip and gully for four but then fires the next through the covers with gumption for four more.
13th over: England 55-2 (Cox 6, Root 1) Rizwan is up to the stumps, Abbas shimmies in, his ears illuminated by the Leeds evening sun. Root has his work cut out in this over, Abbas weaving magic, the penultimate ball jagging back in off the seam leaving Root all at sea.
Mark Butcher is discussing Gay’s dismissal. “What you want not to do as a left hander is cross your right foot over your left one, your shoulders then follow and you end up chest on. It’s a common nightmare for left handers and its something I would train very hard to do to make sure my feet weren’t beyond parallel.”
12th over: England 55-2 (Cox 6, Root 1) Ali, long run up, arms flailing like a 5000m runner as he reaches the stumps. Just one from the over as they take the final drinks break of the day.
11th over: England 54-2 (Cox 6, Root 0) Abbas’ sixth over. Cox gets off the mark by flaying a friendly wide ball for four through the covers.
WICKET! Gay c Salman Agha b Ali 33 (England 48-2)
Mohammad Ali is the first change. Gay purrs three fours in the over, but Ali gets his man with the final delivery as Gay is suddenly wooden, turned around, legs twisted, and edges to second slip.
9th over: England 36-1 (Gay 21, Cox 0) Duckett is beaten by one that zips away off the seam, and loses his wicket next ball to one that straightens all the way home.
“So happy to see Gay open in place of Crawley,” writes Michael Inglis. “These glorious off drives and clear leaves...” I actually enjoyed watching Crawley too, but there certainly feels less jeopardy with Gay. And his strokes are sublime.
WICKET! Duckett lbw Abbas 15 (England 36-1)
Clonked on the front pad just above the ankle. Given out on the field, Duckett screws up his face and asks Gay what he thinks. Tricky to send a senior partner on his way and they review, to no avail.
8th over: England 36-0 (Duckett 15, Gay 17) Another Crackerjack four from Gay, this time a square drive, is followed by five dots from Khurram’s fourth over.
7th over: England 32-0 (Duckett 15, Gay 17) Abbas snakes one past the outside edge of Gay’s bat as he leans forwards. But he picks up three next ball. Duckett picks up another couple through the covers – he’s moving along nicely though is yet to score a boundary.
“What about Wesley Hall? Where does he rank amongst the choices?” asks Michael Coad. Ah Michael, I think this conversation links back to Rob’s stint earlier this afternoon. I never watched Hall in the flesh, though he was terrifying by all accounts, but I am old enough to have seen Garner, Holding and Marshall and they were all magnificent.
6th over: England 27-0 (Duckett 7, Gay 14) The wished-for wicket not coming here for Pakistan. Come Headingley clouds.
Hello David Harris! “Lovely to see you on a Test OBO, but can we trust you’ll be back guiding us through the CC from tomorrow?” [I will be in Derby, on Stokes watch, should the rain fall and any OBO readers be bored]
“Anyway, in over 47 you said you couldn’t recall another season where rain had been so wished for - I can certainly remember matches where the subject line applied, in fact, I think some bunch of chancers even put out a book with that title.”
5th over: England 21-0 (Duckett 7, Gay 14) Abbas again, snake hipped, gazelle lean. Gay clips a fuller ball to the rope, and follows up with a silver service cover drive. A neat defensive shot from a lofty height – he must be six foot something – full stops the over.
4th over: England 13-0 (Duckett 6, Gay 7) The umpire raises a quarter of an eyebrow about Khurram’s follow through and the over ends with a Duckett leave.
3rd over: England 11-0 (Duckett 6, Gay 5) Nice to remember Pep Guardiola being turned down for the plush suite in the Aegeas Bowl Hilton as it was “reserved for Mohammad”, as Abbas tests Gay for five balls – before Gay gloriously drives a half-volley to the cover boundary.
2nd over: England 7-0 (Duckett 6, Gay 1) Khurram from the Kirkstall lane end. Gay, on a pair after the warm-up game, escapes the pressure with a single. In the shade of the dressing room, Harry Brook drinks a carton of something that looks like a milkshake.
1st over: England 4-0 (Duckett 4, Gay 0) Jerusalem is still being belted out as Pakistan review an lbw decision against Duckett’s back leg. Ooof, unlucky, it’s good but umpire’s call on height. Abbas proving a predictable menace in these conditions.
The roller rolls. Rizwan throws the ball from glove to glove. Mohammad Abbas is straight-faced in mirrored shades.
“Robinson seems almost more threatening and successful in Tests than county games which seems almost counter intuitive as it’s meant to be a step up...
“Is it because he’s being backed-up by more potent change bowlers than when playing for Sussex? Is it because international players from other countries have less experience of the conditions? Is he a big match player who takes it up a notch in front of large crowds? Does longer rest period rather than the county grind means he’s arriving fresher? Is it additional coaching and tweaks from the likes of Troy Cooley? Who knows, but long may it continue.”
I’m going to guess that the answer is a little of all of those. Plus international players have not faced Robinson as much, especially as he doesn’t play T20 . But, that being said, he has razed county lineups in the past as well.
The two smiling English shirehorses walk off the field together. Robinson has the ball in his left paw, but raises Tongue’s hand in his. A very nice opening two sessions for Joe Root’s England mark 2.
WICKET! Abbas b Tongue 2 (Pakistan 171-10)
And five for Tongue too as Abbas’ off stump is sawdusted.
WICKET! Khurrum c Atkinson b Robinson 14 (Pakistan 171-9)
Wicket number five for Robinson! Khurrum flaying for glory and Atkinson makes good his drop earlier in the over, taking the catch above his head at mid on, walking backwards as he does it.
47th over: Pakistan 164-8 (Khurram 8, Abbas 1) Mohammad Abbas marches in at ten, a Test match average of 6.69. Tongue gets his reward after having to wait for his hat-trick ball.
”May I refer your OBO readers to today’s Private Eye, page 32,” writes John Starbuck. “Headed The Future of Summer the first item reads 1 ) England cricket team no longer saved from humiliating defeat by rain’, followed by 10) England cricket team saved from humiliating defeat by dist devils and tornadoes .
“Of course, this edition of the Eye was written and printed several days ago, but it could still point the way.”
Yes, I can’t think of another cricket season when rain has been so longed for – by the groundstaff at least.
WICKET! Rizwan lbw Tongue 12 (Pakistan 159-8)
Nips in-swerves in, Rizwan plays in mid air, and is hit on the back pad. It looks a bit high but is given out. Rizwan reviews –ah, he’s unlucky, umpire’s call on line and height. He trudges off.
46 overs: Pakistan 159-7 (Rizwan 12, Khurram 8) Robinson is back, over number 17, ain’t no flies on him. Smith up to the stumps. Khurrum gets a thick edge wide of third for four, and has a big swish at another, missing completely.
Hello Andrew Pechey. “I presume I can’t be the only one thinking that poor Josh Tongue must be feeling very hard done by, having taken 2 in 2, then being dragged from the field for sandwiches and cake, rather than charge in, full of adrenaline, at a fresh batter?” It does feel a bit of a swizz doesn’t it, though Tongue is such a nice man I’m sure he won’t complain. I actually though they were going to change the laws on that very issue – will delve into internet shortly.
45 overs: Pakistan 140-7 (Rizwan 11 Khurram 4 ) Slurp, Khurram swishes the hattrick ball through the covers for four. Tongue grins.
Tongue adjusts his collar, puts his hand through his hair and runs in. Two short legs, leg slip, leg gully, four slips…
44.4 overs: Pakistan 150-7 (Rizwan 11) I admit to thinking that Tongue looked out of sorts as Rizwan pinged the first ball of his over, something crusty and pie shaped, for four. Now Tongue is taking his tea on a hat-trick ball. England on top – time for a quick brew.
WICKET! Usman lbw Tongue 0 (Pakistan 150-7)
Tongue fires the ball into the front pad. A peach, a pear, a plum. Usman reviews, hopelessly. It’s two in two for Tongue and they take TEA!
WICKET! Salman b Tongue 21 (Pakistan 150-6)
Glorious! A wobble seam, nips back between bat and pad as Salman flows forward and demolishes the timbers.
44th over: Pakistan 145-5 (Salman 21, Rizwan 6) Archer again, Rizwan and Salman tick him for a single each..
43rd over: Pakistan 143-5 (Salman 20, Rizwan 5) Salman isn’t hanging around for a ball with his name on. Flays two fours from Tongue’s over, both 0ff wide balls, both heading happily to the deep third boundary.
42nd over: Pakistan 133-5 (Salman 11, Rizwan 4) That was Robinson’s last over and he’s replaced by Jofra Archer, who hasn’t (yet) been at his best today. His second ball is fat and loose and Salman tucks in but he finds his line after that, the last ball shimmying past Salman’s outside edge.
41st over: Pakistan 127-5 (Salman 7, Rizwan 4) Josh Tongue replaces Atkinson. He hits his straps straight away.
40th over: Pakistan 127-5 (Salman 6, Rizwan 3) The Leeds sun is out again, the Yorkshire wind pulling fleeces off then on. More excellence from Robinson, who has the ball at his command, jagging, surprising, whispering. Salman chips Robinson in the air and it beats mid-on rolling along for four. The next ball rips past the outside edge. Robinson gets an affectionate round of applause as he takes his jumper and retreats to to the rope.
39th over: Pakistan 123-5 (Salman 2, Rizwan 3) Rizwan continues to look as if he’s got an urgent appointment to get to, but Atkinson keeps him frustrated.
Apologies to Zain Malik, I’ve just seen your lovely contribution in my inbox, worth reading even if the weather has cheered up a bit..
“The visiting cricketer must first contend with the peculiarities of the local climate. The sky hangs low over Headingley, a vast sheet of grey through which the sun, presumably, exists somewhere. Moisture clings to the grass and gathers on the seats. The pitch is a threatening shade of green. Beyond the boundary, spectators disappear beneath coats and umbrellas while the floodlights will soon glow in what the calendar, rather optimistically, describes as summer. This is most certainly not what a “heatwave” looks like.
”The covers advance and retreat. Groundstaff emerge, confer and disappear. Water droplets gather on television cameras. Broadcasters in raincoats staring towards the square, caricatures of English cricketing misery, wearing the anxious resignation of patients at the dentist’s reception waiting for a name neither particularly wants to hear.
”For Pakistanis, though, this is all strangely familiar. Test cricket has long played in the background of Pakistani life: on televisions in offices and bank branches, in shops and drawing rooms, followed intermittently between meetings, customers and cups of tea. And no fixture has tested that national appetite quite like a Test series in the English summer.
“The hours are convenient, the opposition familiar and the audience enormous; only the weather refuses to cooperate. England asks the Pakistani cricket follower to master one of the game’s more peculiar disciplines: spending an entire day watching almost no cricket at all.”
38th over: Pakistan 120-5 (Salman 0, Rizwan 2) Not since Ian Botham have England had a bowler able to produce such magic off a run-up modelled on a man trundling a wheelbarrow through the garden. Anyway, Rizwan isn’t hanging around, slog sweeps his second ball high into the air, chased down by the slips.
WICKET! Shafique b Robinson 61 Pakistan (118-5)
Neck. And. Crop. A ball that screams back and detonates.
37th over: Pakistan 118-4 (Shafique 61, Salman 0) Just a single off Atkinson’s over, with the stand-in captain yet to get off the mark.
36th over: Pakistan 117-4 (Shafique 60, Salman 0) Robinson resumes after drinks, he’s looking in good nick. And his bowling is too – line, length, everything flowing. It’s a beauty to dismiss Saud but, oh dear, the replay shows that Saud would have been not out, the ball too high. If only, if only…
WICKET! Saud lbw Robinson 5 (Pakistan 117-4)
A beauty that thuds into Saud’s front pad, the umpire waits, waits, picks his teeth, polishes his shoes and finally sends Saud on his way. Saud thinks about reviewing but faffs around for too long and is told he’s all out of time.
35th over: Pakistan 114-3 (Shafique 57, Saud 5) Headingley shuffles to the first boundary for 32 balls, an ironed collar clip through square leg by Shafique as the sun bursts through my Manchester window and simultaneously illuminates the crease in Leeds. Another single from Atkinson’s over and it is time for drink No.2 in this elongated session.
34th over: Pakistan 109-3 (Shafique 52, Saud 5) An Ollie Robinson maiden.
33rd over: Pakistan 109-3 (Shafique 52, Saud 5) Such a lagubrious run-up by Atkinson brings surprisingly fiery deliveries.. The edges continue to test the slip fielders, now Cox is rubbing the tops of his already bandaged fingers.
32nd over: Pakistan 108-3 (Shafique 52, Saud 4) An outside edge off Robinson takes Shafique to fifty – 7 fours, 82 balls – a solid novella of an innings from the carnage of 6-2. England are keeping Pakistan on their toes here – an lbw appeal against Saud , just outside leg, and some muddled running which could have been exploited if Cox had managed to pick up cleanly.
31st over: Pakistan 104-3 (Shafique 49, Saud 4) Atkinson replaces Tongue, Saud advances and gets an outside edge just short of Ben Duckett at slip, the ball ricochets and hits him on the thumb, which he rubs ruefully. Another one snakes past the outside edge – Atkinson is consistently hitting 86mph here.
30th over: Pakistan 104-3 (Shafique 49, Saud 4) I was just about to type how sunny it was over Leeds but the clouds have crept back over and as the camera pulls away Headingley is shrouded in a frowning gloom. Robinson isn’t offering Pakistan any light relief, bar a no ball and now an offering on legside which Shafique ushers away for a couple.
29th over: Pakistan 101-3 (Shafique 47, Saud 4) Imam roars in frustration as he marches off and swishes his bat. A really smart catch by Brook too. Tongue is now in the zone – bowling horridly fast and with zing. He gets one to move back in against Saud and tonk him on the pad. They fancy it behind the stumps but Tongue shrugs and replays show an inside edge. Saud picks up an emergency four through gully from his last ball.
WICKET! Imam-ul-Haq c Brook b Tongue 42 (Pakistan 97-3)
Imam plonks his left boot out at an angle and drives with enough waywardness that Brook can stoop to conquer at second slip.
28th over: Pakistan 97-2 (Imam 42, Shafique 47) Hello, and thanks Rob for that long stint that embraced Ollie Robinson magic and this solid Pakistan fightback. A couple of singles off Robinson’s over.
27th over: Pakistan 95-2 (Imam 41, Shafique 46) An overpitched delivery from Tongue is punched sweetly to the left of mid-on by Shafique. Four more.
Since his recall in Trinidad earlier this month, Shafique has scored 228 runs without being dismissed.
Time for me to hand over to Tanya Aldred for the rest of the day’s play.
26th over: Pakistan 88-2 (Imam 40, Shafique 40) Robinson completes a maiden to Imam. Jamie Smith came up the stumps for the last ball of the over; that tactic is so damn hot right now.
Imam is all strapped up and ready to continue.
25.3 overs: Pakistan 88-2 (Imam 40, Shafique 40) Ollie Robinson replaces Josh Tongue, who will presumably change ends. His first ball is timed at 72mph but still does enough off the seam to beat Imam. Oh, Keysie .
Rob Key is the only man in Test history to be dismissed by both Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn. But I didn’t think the poor guy would be haunted by dobbers 25 years later.
Imam defends against Robinson and then calls for the physio . He started to set off for a possible single, then winced as he returned to his crease. It looks like a calf problem, albeit a twinge rather than a tear. The physio is strapping it up.
25th over: Pakistan 88-2 (Imam 40, Shafique 40) Archer’s first ball after drinks is a bit of a freebie. Imam cuts it for four but then plays and misses at a snorter from round the wicket. The ball is still doing enough when England get their length right.
The three Hundred bowlers have been straining for accuracy all day. When Archer strays on the pads, Imam helps himself to three more behind square.
“I’d have Sir Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts, KCN, right up there in the highest echelon,” writes Andrew Goudie. “Calm, composed, lethal menace.”
Plus one of the great bowling brains and a quicker bouncer that kept a few dentists in business. I used to love hearing Michael Holding talk about Andy Roberts.
24th over: Pakistan 81-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 40) Shafique is beaten by an unreal delivery from Tongue: full and angled in before spitting like a leg break.
Another good stat on Sky. In Tests, Josh Tongue averages 23 against right-handers and 39 against lefties. He wants Shafique on strike as much as possible.
When Tongue drifts onto the pads, however, Shafique touches him round the corner for four. The next ball is too straight and clipped with authority to midwicket boundary.
Terrific batting, that, particularly the second shot. It would have been easy for Shafique to go into his shell while Tongue was working him over.
23rd over: Pakistan 71-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 30) England look a bit flat in the field. This isn’t the time for the full short-ball ploy, but Root has tossed a eggs in that basket by placing Emilio Gay at long leg for a top-edged pull. Nothing doing in that over.
22nd over: Pakistan 70-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 30) Tongue, who has a fine record against right-handers, is already causing Shafique problems. He’s squared up by an unpleasant delivery that rips from a length to hit him high on the back leg. Too high for an LBW appeal but a fine bit of bowling.
21st over: Pakistan 69-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 29) Shafique takes a quick single off Archer and is comfortbaly home when Lawrence’s throw hits the stumps. Lawrence, always entertaining…
“No Courtney, no party, as far as that bowling line-up is concerned,” says Sean Clayton. “I don’t remember much Windies cricket before the mid-80s but my gut still wants to go with Walsh, Ambrose and Marshall before even looking at anyone else...”
I’d have him half a rung – okay, a quarter of a rung – below Ambrose, Marshall, Garner, Holding and probably Roberts. That said, if I was picking only two of those West Indian quicks to shoulder a crap team, Courtney would be first choice. Some of the never-ending spells he bowled at the turn of the century were incredible. My deputy will tell Sylvester Clarke.
20th over: Pakistan 68-2 (Imam 33, Shafique 28) Josh Tongue comes on for Atkinson, who bowled a mixed spell of 7-0-30-0.
There’s a nice variety in this England attack, even though they have four right-arm quicks. Tongue is the bovver boy, or maybe the Paulie Walnuts figure, and he almost takes out Shafique with a sizzling second delivery that beats the bat and whistles past the off stump. A good start.
19th over: Pakistan 66-2 (Imam 32, Shafique 27) Archer concedes his first runs when a gorgeous on-drive from Shafique runs away for four. That brings up an increasingly assured fifty partnership with Imam.
After bowling an absolute jaffa from round the wicket to beat Imam, Archer overpitches and is clattered through the covers for four more. Risk y reward.
Imam pushes three more through mid-off to leave Archer with unusual figures of 4-3-12-0.
18th over: Pakistan 54-2 (Imam 25, Shafique 22) Imam cuts Atkinson for four to bring up the Pakistan fifty. They’re going well now and I’m surprised Joe Root hasn’t turned to Josh Tongue.
17th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Imam 19, Shafique 22) Jofra Archer replaces Robinson and starts with a maiden to Shafique. His radar is still all over the place, certainly by his immaculate standards, and Shafique was able to leave most of the deliveries. Archer’s figures of 3-3-0-0 are a bit deceptive.
In other news, the PCB have just announced that Pakistan will host England and Sri Lanka in an ODI tri-series in October. Thanks to Ali for sending over the details of my next holiday. Urgh, I wish.
16th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Imam 19, Shafique 22) A half-volley from Atkinson is driven crisply down the ground for four by Imam, a level-headed player and an excellent judge of which balls to defend and attack.
Atkinson’s spell has been a mixed bag – a few jaffas, as always, but no sustained rhythm. That’s to be expected given his Hundred campaign only finished on Sunday night.
15th over: Pakistan 43-2 (Imam 15, Shafique 21) A terrific stat on Sky Sports: in Robinson’s first seven overs, Pakistan’s batters left only 7% of his deliveries. The interrogation continues when Robinson’s straight his eighth over with successive nipbackers that Shafique inside-edges onto the body.
Robinson has mixed memories of this ground. He bowled beautifully when England beat India in 2021, taking 7/81 in the match, but a back spasm against Australia two years later ended his Ashes prematurely and put him on the naughty step.
14th over: Pakistan 42-2 (Imam 15, Shafique 20) Imam uses Fairy Liquid hands to ensure a thick edge off Atkinson lands well short of the slips. Better still, the angle of the bat ensures it flies through the gap for four runs.
Pakistan have played nicely since the resumption, and I reckon it’s time for the kind of anarchy only Josh Tongue can provide.
13th over: Pakistan 38-2 (Imam 11, Shafique 20) A juicy outswinger from Robinson, his first really poor delivery, is stroked classily to the cover boundary by Shafique. This Headingley pitch looks pretty good, especially now that the sun is out. And Shafique has been impressively positive for a man who walked to the crease with Pakistan 6/2.
Shafique is walking down the pitch to Robinson to negate any movement, so we might see Jamie Smith up to the stumps pretty soon.
12th over: Pakistan 31-2 (Imam 11, Shafique 14) There are a few cries of ‘catch it’ when Imam bat-pads Atkinson round the corner. The ball flies well wide of Emilio Gay at leg gully.
Atkinson ends a pretty good over by straightening an excellent delivery to beat Shafique’s defensive push.
11th over: Pakistan 28-2 (Imam 8, Shafique 14) Ollie Robinson picks up where he left off, threatening both edges of Imam-ul-Haq’s bat.
An outside edge lands short of the slips, then Robinson beat Imam on the inside and outside. Imam responds with a pleasant on-drive for three.
10th over: Pakistan 25-2 (Imam 5, Shafique 14) Shafique guides Atkinson past point for a couple.
Play is about to resume , with two balls of Gus Atkinson’s third over remaining. These are the revised session times:
“Enjoyed the essay on Curtly Ambrose,” writes Julan Menz. “I started watching Test cricket as a kid in the late 1970s, grew up both admiring and resenting the fearsome West Indies attack. That sheer adrenaline kick of watching an attack strike terror into the hearts of their opponents.
“By the start of the 1990s that aura had faded somewhat, and my first impressions of the new generation of fast(ish) West Indian bowlers was a bit ’meh’ to say the least. How wrong I was, in some ways at least, as it has been a long and frustrating decline since then.
“Edwards, Ambrose, Walsh, Patterson, Clarke, Marshall, Garner, Holding, Roberts, Croft…. Pick your five starters.”
Five! This is impossible… but I’ll have Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose with the new ball followed by Michael Holding and Joel Garner. And as we have the luxury of a fifth bowler, I’ll choose a wildcard: Patrick Patterson, who at his best was the fastest and scariest of the lot.
My deputy will break the news to Sylvester Clarke.
Never mind Headingley 1992, Andy Pechey has a more recent boy-on-the-burning-deck story.
My eldest was playing U15s cricket last Thursday, going well on 16 with the team 102/4 (plus one retired), when his partner ran himself out.
This left Al stranded at the non-striker’s end as a Lancs Pathway leg spinner took four wickets in four balls, all clean bowled, to shut down a promising score. Cricket is a frustrating game!
In case you missed it , our cricket correspondent Ali Martin answered your questions last Friday. It’s well worth a read.
Related: ‘That second morning at the Oval did set alarms ringing a bit … ’ – our cricket correspondent Ali Martin answered your questions
Ali has been very busy this year: as well as the day job, he’s been working on Chris Woakes’ autobiography , The Wizard. It will be published in October and is available for pre-order.
I can’t wait for this, especially the chapter on the 2023 Ashes. The Bazball era ended shambolically, sure, but that series alone made it all worthwhile.
“I remember Gower going in No 5, being stranded 18 not out and looking gently shellshocked,” writes James Brough. “As he said on another occasion, “The boy stood on the burning deck. Twit.’”
It’s one of the great batting collapses: 270/1, 292/2, 320 all out. Go on, treat yourself .*
* And then subscribe to DM Mordecai’s channel, which is possibly the best thing on YouTube .
Conditions aren’t quite fit for play just yet, but the covers are coming off and there will be an inspection in about 20 minutes.
“Neil Mallender’s debut was indeed a very impressive one (I remember it well) ,” says Steve Hudson. “Looking at the lower half of England’s first innings, though , also made me smile. Waqar was reversing it, clearly!”
Just a bit. I think Graeme Hick was done by a booming full toss, after which the lower order was detonated. But Mushy played a part too, opening the door by getting Graham Gooch and Mark Ramprakash either side of lunch on day three (I think).
From memory that was the innings in which Ramprakash got out to a premeditated, one of the first signs that international cricket was starting to scramble a brain that had looked so clear during his outstanding debut series against West Indies a year earlier.
That 1992 series against Pakistan is an all-timer. I’d urge anyone unfamiliar with it to seek out the highights on YouTube, especially Lord’s, Headingley and The Oval.
I’m off for a quick lunch break before the (potential) restart at 1.10pm. I’ll leave you with Geoff Lemon’s post-mortem on one of Test cricket’s greatest upsets.
Related: How Australia found themselves on the wrong side of cricket’s most profound upset | Geoff Lemon
“You can gauge the age of a cricket fan by asking them which players they think of when they hear the phrase ‘horses-for-courses selection’,” writes Darrieni Bold. “For me it’s Martin Bicknell and Neil Mallender.
Who were both picked for the first time at Headingley! Mine would also be Mallender, who had a storming debut in his penultimate Test .
Tim de Lisle points out that Ollie Robinson has a peerless strike rate of 19.2 this summer . A wicket every 3.1 overs! It makes George Lohmann and Jasprit Bumrah look like a pair of impotent duffers.
It’s a very small sample size, of course. And conditions at Lord’s and Headingley have, like Mark Renton’s opium suppositories, been custom-designed for his needs. But it’s a pleasure to watch Robinson at work on the field – and to see him so at peace off it.
On Thursday, the County Championship resumes for its final six-week run, charging towards 27 September with barely a pause for breath. It’s tight at the top of Division One, with only 11 points between first placed Nottinghamshire and sixth placed Essex, while Kent and Northants prepare to elbow it out for the second Division Two promotion place alongside almost-inked-in Durham.
The players, on the treadmill since 3 April, and switching between competitions, are run ragged. But no one is as wrung out as the groundstaff, dealing with a summer of fiery extremes, five heatwaves, excruciating temperatures and barely a drop of rain across most of England. In the words of the Met Office scientist Mike Kendon, “the climate of the 20th century has now gone” but the cricket season is expecting to roll on by as if nothing is happening. The Spin asked three head groundsmen how they are coping.
Related: The Spin | Heatwaves leave groundstaff high and dry in search of playable wickets
The scene is much brighter at Headingley , it says here, although I’ve just noticed there’s also a yellow warning for thunderstorms. Who ya gonna believe?
Lunch will be taken at 12.30pm, as predicted by Quasimodo over here. If the weather improves, Gus Atkinson and Ollie Robinson will start bowling again at 1.10pm.
“Test cricket is BACK, Rob (it’s barely been away),” writes Guy Hornsby. “And I’m really happy for Robinson getting the two early wickets.
“I know Test cricket is eternally dying, but the run through to the WTC next year is mouthwatering. Stacked series across South Africa, England and Australia, and the likes of Zimbabwe playing more than they have for 25+ years.
“I know it’s easy to get gloomy (rightly so), but I feel grateful for what we have right now. It may be the last era of it all.”
“Eng looking for a new slogan?” says Eamonn Maloney. “For now, what about Tresco - every little helps? Perhaps the new era will herald the coming of a new style of cricketing communication, ‘The Flemish dialect’ in which poor performances are explained away via unintelligible guttural sounds. Speaking of Flemish, Benedict Bermange sounds like a Belgian espionage operative.”
“On John Snow’s 7/40,” writes Krishnamoorhy V. “Any statement that starts with 7-for... instantly takes me to those 32 balls in which Curtly Ambrose took 7/1 against Australia at Perth,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Years later, when I saw Curtly Ambrose smiling and joking in a BBC documentary, I was like ‘this guy can smile...?’”
If anyone fancies a lunchtime longread, I wrote a piece on that Ambrose spell for the book Supreme Bowling.
It’s hooning down at Headingley , so don’t be surprised if the umpires take an early lunch at 12.30pm.
It’s been a mixed start for England. Ollie Robinson bowled a majestic spell of 5-1-12-2, but Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson had radar issues and Joe Root was talked into burning two reviews. They weren’t howlers, far from it, but they did induce a slight feeling of deja vu.
9.4 overs: Pakistan 23-2 (Imam 5, Shafique 12) The heavens opened during that review and the players are running off the field.
That was an extremely good not-out decision from Allahuddien Paleker, because there was a noise and it was a very persuasive appeal from England.
It missed the bat by a fair way. The noise England heard was the ball brushing the hip, but it was too high for an LBW. England have lost their second review of the morning.
Shafique clatters a wide ball from Atkinson to the cover boundary. There’s an appeal for caught behind two balls later, with England confident there was an inside edge. Root is risking another review.
9th over: Pakistan 19-2 (Imam 5, Shafique 8) Robinson, back round the wicket, bowls successive jafffas to the left-handed Imam. The first snaps past the edge; the second takes a thick edge and bounces through the slips for four.
Rain is imminent. England would love to take to another wicket before the heavens open.
8th over: Pakistan 14-2 (Imam 1, Shafique 7) “Nice to see Robinson do well,” says Steve Hudson. “There is an element of sadness though, when you think how good he looks, and that overall average of 21-something. If his maturity and fitness had matched his skill levels, what might have be achieved by now?”
My hunch is that he has been slightly mischaracterised, and that in time we might view his absence differently. It’s only a hunch – I don’t have any inside information and I don’t know the guy, mainly because he hasn’t replied to any of my fanmail.
I guess the main feeling is sadness: at how Bazball might be remembered had he not been blacklisted for 18 months, and that in a situation there are no simple answers. Nobody is at fault, everybody is at fault.
According to Benedict Bermange , the Sky statistician, this is the first time a wicket has fallen to the first ball of a Test series in England.
7th over: Pakistan 11-2 (Imam 1, Shafique 5) Imam yanks his hand off the bat after edging a seaming lifter from Robinson just short of gully. A maiden.
Talking of which, I watched highlights of John Snow’s 7/40 at Sydney the other night; the lift he extracted was scary .
6th over: Pakistan 11-2 (Imam 1, Shafique 5) Jofra Archer is hooked after a spell of 2-2-0-0, but it’s the right decision because he had no rhythm. With rain expected around midday, England want to make the most of this mini-session.
Gus Atkinson attacks the stumps from ball one. When he overpitches, Shafqiue drives exquisitely through mid-on for four.
England won’t mind that too much, not while conditions are so heavily in their favour. Shafique leaves the next ball on length and is relieved to hear no death rattle as it zips over the top. A good leave, ultimately, but close.
5th over: Pakistan 7-2 (Imam 1, Shafique 1) Abdullah Shafique, the first right-hander in the Pakistan batting line-up, inside edge his first ball round the corner for a single.
Robinson has figures of 3-0-7-2. “I swung that!” he said with a surprised smile as he celebrated the wicket.
Ollie Robinson moves over the wicket to Shan Masood and needs precisely one ball to get rid of him. Masood whipped around a full, straight inswinger that would have violated middle stump halfway up. Not a great shot, but another exemplary piece of bowling from a new-ball master.
WICKET! Pakistan 6-2 (Masood LBW b Robinson 5)
He was indeed just outside the line, so England lose a review.
Robinson pleads for another LBW when Imam-ul-Haq plays around another beautiful nipbacker. It’s very similar to the Azan LBW, but I reckon this one was outside the line.
4th over: Pakistan 3-1 (Imam 0, Masood 3) Archer’s radar is askew for much a poor second over, with a number of deliveries bouncing down the leg side. Archer’s figures of 2-2-0-0 are more Mullally than Ambrose.
“I watched Tetris last night – enjoying it more than I anticipated – and your comment about Rob Key and the medium pacers got me thinking about the pinnacle of modern gaming, Stick Cricket,” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “I’ve commented before on how fiendishly difficult it was to get away the dibbly dobblers on that game and it only surprises me that this ruse hasn’t been used more in international cricket – especially as county cricket has dined on them for years and England seem to routinely get rolled over when facing it such as in the Ashes, Tim Murtagh for Ireland the other year, Abbas etc... Also, it’s a well-stocked cupboard in terms of selection options. Even just sneaking one into the attack makes it more rounded. Perhaps that’s the plan with Curran when he’s fit... The double whammy of left arm and medium pace.”
I guess you’d need specific conditions to justify playing both Robinson (England’s best bowler IMO and therefore first choice) and Sam Curran. Those conditions do exist, so I guess the skill is to identify when it’s the right time. Horses-for-courses isn’t the dirty phrase it once was.
Rob Key has a brilliant cricket brain, and he wasn’t the only person in English cricket who was too slow to cop on to the change in Australian conditions. The trouble is he gave the best quote on the subject, so it’s going to be shoved in his coupon for the rest of his days.
3rd over: Pakistan 3-1 (Imam 0, Masood 3) Masood smiles after being beaten by another majestic delivery from Robinson, whose movement and control make him almost unplayable in conditions like these. Very good so far from England, who have been disciplined but also aggressive with their length in particular.
2nd over: Pakistan 2-1 (Imam 0, Masood 2) Jofra Archer starts with a maiden, including a sharp delivery that Imam-ul-Haq edges just short of third slip. These are horrible conditions for Pakistan, especially as Robinson and Archer are so good to left-handers.
I forgot to say that Joe Root is fielding at mid-off, so the slip cordon is Duckett, Brook and, I think, Jordan Cox.
“Genius and all that, but Robinson could have ironed his shirt,” says Mark Hooper. “He must have known he was going to be on the big screen a lot this morning.”
1st over: Pakistan 2-1 (Imam 0, Masood 2) That was Ollie Robinson’s 500th first-class wicket; they’ve come at an average of 21.57.
Another left-hander, Shan Masood, nods respectfully after playing and a missing at a jaffa. That delivery went the other way off the seam. Robinson is bowling 80mph leg-spin – and he has a doosra.
“Hi Rob,” writes John Starbuck. “In the same spirit as naming Bazball before it actually happened, I suggest we use the term Flemingo cricket from this autumn onwards.”
It’s out!! Ollie Robinson started the summer with a triple-wicket maiden; now he’s struck first ball on his return after injury. His skill level is off the charts.
Azan Awais, Pakistan’s young opener, didn’t do a huge amount wrong – it was a brilliant delivery, the antonym of the loosener.
It was a classic Robi nson delivery to the left-hander: round the wicket, full and ripping back off the seam to beat the inside edge and hit the pad. But it might just have been outside the line.
REVIEW! Pakistan 0-1 (Azan LBW b Robinson 0)
DRS permitting, Ollie Robinson has struck first ball!
“For men raised beneath the fierce sun of Lahore and Multan, these are hostile conditions,” writes Zain Malik. “The cold gets into the fingers. Clouds gather. Drizzle becomes rain, and rain becomes an inspection. Cricket is played in brief intervals between consultations with the sky.
“Pakistan return after six years; England return under Joe Root to something they thought they had left behind. One side has spent years reinventing itself, the other is deciding how much of its recent reinvention to keep.”
In rankings terms, this is 7th v 8th. How the mighty England have fallen; they were sniffing top spot a year ago.
Warm applause as Joe Root leads England out at the start of his second spell as permanent captain. Are there any precedents for this, an experienced former captain returning to the job on a permanent basis years later? Bob Simpson is the name sitting at the top of my head. I guess Mike Brearley qualifies, though his situation was unique.
Last Friday was a glorious anniversary for Pakistani cricket, 10 years on from a 10-wicket win against England at the Oval. Younis Khan, their greatest run-scorer, hit a double hundred. Yasir Shah, a magical leggie and Lionel Messi lookalike, took a five-fer. Misbah-ul-Haq, their 42-year-old captain, led his men on a victory lap in south London and would have the ultimate reward a few days later. His side, unable to play at home since 2009 because of an attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus, moved up to No 1 in the Test rankings for the first time.
There is a link to that golden period on their current tour of England. Sarfaraz Ahmed, their wicketkeeper back then, is now the Test head coach, but these are much darker times for the national team. Sarfaraz’s presence underlines the obscene volatility within Pakistani cricket, a never‑ending search for new answers while results inevitably suffer. The number of head coaches/team directors Pakistan have had across formats since 2021 is into double figures, and there’s really no point trying to count how many selectors have had a go. Like Joe Root, Babar Azam is back for his second stint as Test captain, having replaced Shan Masood before last month’s tour of the Caribbean.
Related: Pakistan have pedigree but lack wizardry 10 years on from glorious summer | Taha Hashim
Statgasm time, folks. Of the 43 men to average 50 or more in Test cricket over a sustained period of time (min 20 innings), only two have a strike-rate of over 65.
If only England produced such exciting players.
Related: It is time for freakishly gifted Harry Brook to come of age in England’s post-Bazball era | Ali Martin
“If England are after a template for this most recent of resets , might they set their focus a little wider than usual and look to Bangladesh?” wonders Tom Hopkins. “Their win in Australia is being talked about as one of the great shocks, and of course it is, but in another sense it wasn’t like most upsets at all.
“There was no freak session, no single titanic performance, no randomness produced by the pitch. They just got off to a strong start and then continued to turn the screw in every single session from then on. Isn’t that how grown-up, professional sides go about winning Test matches?”
I think it’s a bit more nuanced than that; that you need different approaches for different situations. But I entireheartedly agree that the most clinical England team of my lifetime, Andy Flower’s 2010-11 side, would have been extremely proud of that Bangladesh performance.
It reminded me a lot of England’s win at Jamaica in 1989-90 – it was earthshaking but also quietly emphatic, and it was the result of an approach that was maybe four parts discipline, one part flair.
The history of Test cricket between England and Pakistan stretches back to 1954 and has been a vibrant one over the years. Yet, for all the memorable battles, plus the cultural ties between the two countries and a fair bit of scandal along the way, a trophy that denotes the rivalry is still to be created.
England lost the Crowe-Thorpe trophy to New Zealand this summer, will look to retain the Basil D’Oliveira trophy in South Africa this winter, and hope they can win back the Ashes next year. Trophies for encounters with India and West Indies go back so far they have been retired and replaced by new ones in recent times.
But aside from the Benaud‑Qadir trophy, inaugurated when Australia visited in 2022, Test series involving Pakistan simply have whatever cup the sponsor at the time commissions. When England were last in Pakistan, for example, they watched their hosts lift the Bank Alfalah presents Kingdom Valley trophy.
Until something more meaningful is devised, perhaps the series should be known as “El Dysfunctiono”. Admittedly it sounds like something Pelé raised awareness about back in the day. But given the two teams involved – both capable of self‑sabotage that drives supporters up the wall – it kind of works. That it gets under way at Headingley, home to English cricket’s most volatile county, is also fitting.
Related: Self-saboteurs England and Pakistan face off in ‘El Dysfunctiono’ series
“Morning, Rob,” says Richard O’Hagan. “I don’t know if you were aware, but Darren Stevens is now captain of England Over-40s. Finally getting the international recognition many thought he deserved at a younger age.
“Admittedly it probably isn’t as impressive as Nigel Martyn being the wicketkeeper for England Over-60s, but it’s still an achievement.”
In less exciting news, I’ve been training with Whitstable FC’s over-60s football team. I was asked the other day whether I might be interested in playing for the actual team. I sadly pointed out that, though I look 97, I won’t be eligible for another decade.
In other news, whoever invented walking sport should be knighted. Opta and CricViz don’t keep such data, but I’d bet that person has saved thousands of lives.
Related: The Spin | ‘New lease of life’: how walking cricket is giving the over-50s a taste of Bazball
England’s team is as expected, with four quality right-arm seamers – it’s a more varied attack than that suggests – and the occasional spin of Dan Lawrence.
Babar Azam is out with a finger injury, so Salman Ali Agha will captain Pakistan. Saud Shakeel comes into the middle order.
England Duckett, Gay, Cox, Root (c), Brook, Lawrence, Smith (wk), Robinson, Atkinson, Archer, Tongue.
Pakistan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Masood, Shafique, Shakeel, Rizwan (wk), Ali Agha, Usman, Shahzad, Ali, Abbas.
Ollie Robinson’s lips will not be dry at the prospect.
Heatwave my arse! It’s a brisk 18 degrees at Headingley, with a chance of showers later in the day. We should stress this is a meteorological term, not a comment on England being a shower of the absolute variety.
And now for something completely different. A new era starts at Headingley today, one in which England will play sober, wiser cricket. Some will say this is all tish and fipsy, that Joe Root and Stephen Fleming’s England won’t be that different to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s team. They’d be right, but a) John Cleese never uttered the phrase “and now for something partially different” and b) the branding and image of Root’s team, the thing that really matters in modern life, will be completely different.
Bazball was christened before it had even been born; Cricinfo’s Andrew Miller intuitively sensed what was about to happen and coined the phrase a few days before England’s first Test against New Zealand four years ago. No equivalent sobriquet has been forthcoming this time, and not only because Flemball sounds like an issue for your friendly local pharmacist rather than the cricket cognoscenti.
Fleming doesn’t officially start as coach until the winter, so Root and Marcus Trescothick will be in charge for the three-match series against Pakistan. On paper it’s the softest of landings against arguably the weakest Pakistan side in decades. That team still managed to beat England in 2024-25, aided by some fine spin bowling and a few industrial-strength heaters, but their away form puts the LL in appalling. A win in Trinidad earlier this month ended a run of eight straight defeats.
Pakistan can still trouble England, particularly when Mohammad Ali and the peerless Mohammad Abbas are wobbling the ball at 77mph with the keeper up to the stumps. (As regular readers will know, the OBO loves Rob Key, but the poor guy’s life has turned into a horror film called Night of the Living Dobbers , in which he is barricaded in a farmhouse surrounded by zombiefied incarnations of Michael Neser, Matt Henry, Scott Boland, Nathan Smith and, most terrifyingly of all, Darren Stevens.)
Abbas and Ali should induce at least one middle-order shemozzle over the next few weeks. Even so, it’ll be a surprise if England don’t win this series 3-0 and a major shock if they don’t win it at all.
The fixture list gets bloody difficult after this - South Africa away, Bangladesh away and at home, Australia away and at home, India away – so England could do with a nice, quiet, peaceful series. The sort they always have against Pakistan.
Related: Root and Robinson evoke Headingley history to help England boss opening day | Taha Hashim
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Rob Smyth (earlier) and Tanya Aldred (later). Published 19 Aug 2026, 06:45 pm.
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